Sorry about not live-blogging from Springfield where Central Catholic battled American Heritage of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to an 82-77 loss.
I can not take the blame. The wireless access was horrendous, to the point where i couldn’t hook in.
I promise plenty on the Raiders and the HoopHall Classic here and in tomorrow’s Eagle-Tribune, though.
First things first. The HoopHall Classic. Wow, what a take.
Watched six boys teams today in three games.
I’d rank them:
1. Oak hill of Virginia
2. South Atlantic High
3. Montverde Academy of Florida
4. Mount Vernon High of New York
5. American Heritage Academy of Florida
6. Central Catholic
Famed Oak Hill Academy was flat-out awesome in knocking off South Atlanta in what was a thriller.
I don’t have final numbers on that one, but 6-foot-9 senior Keith “Tiny” Gallon stole the show.
A chunky sort, he had to be over 300 pounds easy, Gallon buried South Atlanta from long range. He nailed at least 6 or 7 threes, at one point screaming out, “Don’t leave me open!”
Gallon wasn’t open. He was 26 feet away and firing. it was unreal. Gallon is signed with Oklahoma.
South Atlanta answered with Derrick Favors, a 6-foot-10 rebounder/dunker, who had about 30, most in the loud variety. He’s either headed for Georgia Tech or the NBA lottery.
There were players everywhere, lottery picks.
Montverde featured 7-footer Ruslan Pateev, who is off to Arizona St. His backup, 6-foot-10, Rob Chubb, is committed to Auburn.
The rest of the big men were 6-9, 6-8, 6-9, 7-0, and there were five “guards” listed between 6-3 and 6-5, led by 6-5 junior James Bell, who is already committed to Villanova.
Montverde smacked of a hoop factory and lived up to that call in knocking off NYC power Mount Vernon in a highly entertaining game.
I will state this unequivocally. If this tournament continues in this way, at this level, the Longos will be spending MLK weekend in Springfield for the near future. This tournament is a can’t miss. i just wish I could get there Monday when the action really cooks.
Check out the action at thehoophallclassic.com, for the entire Monday sked.
Mater Dei of Santa Ana, Calif., faces Whitney Young High of Chicago.
Mater Dei features the Wear twins, each 6-foot-11 and headed to UNC, Stanford-bound guard Andy Brown, at 6-8, 6-foot-3 point guard Gary Franklin, a junior already committed to uSC, and 6-4 guard Tyler Lamb, who’s already committed to UCLA.
It’s an entirely different hoop planet.
To the blogger who took a cheap shot at me for mentioning MaxPreps and the No. 12 national ranking for Central. Of course, it’s a joke.
Central might not be the 12th best team in Springfield this weekend. That’s not a knock on CC, just the truth. That doesn’t mean they’re not a quality program, but one service had American Heritage at #65 nationally. They were clearly better than Central.
It’s laughable. MaxPreps couldn’t be more of a guessing game.
The only bigger joke is the lack of preparation the GatorAde folks use in picking a state player of the year. They get it right maybe, 20 percent of the time.
Jumping to Central Catholic, after a real sluggish start, it acquitted itself quite nicely.
I’ll tell you that the American Heritage backcourt was better than half the Division 1 colleges in the country, right now.
Raymond Taylor might be the quickest athlete I’ve seen up close in a high school uniform.
In Valley terms, he made Lowell’s Jethro Kollie look like a plodding big man.
Taylor was a blur.
And Kenny Boynton can stroke it. His range was way, way out there. And it was like he didn’t miss until the Patriots were way ahead.
I had him 4 of 5 in the first half behind the arc when AH built its lead.
Taylor was so good off the dribble, he forced Central into an extended 2-3 zone.
And AH was big, very big. 6-8, 6-8, 6-7 big. All juniors with talent.
Give Raider Jimmy Zenevitch credit. He’s been struggling a little offensively and got off to a tough start, missing a bunny or two.
But Zenevitch played his best half in a Central uni against that front line, netting 8 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter comeback.
I’ve said it before. The development of the sophomore Zenevitch, junior Michael Alvarez and/or even frosh Luis Puello will determine if Central is the true beast of Mass basketball, not only this season but next.
Zenevitch hit 5 of 11 from the field.
Next, we’ll move on to the big guy, Carson Desrosiers.
All you cynics out there, who whine that Carson is playing against kids that are small, so it doesn’t translate to the next level, the big man silenced you today.
He put up 23 and 13 boards, with 10 of 16 shooting, again against long, lean, athletic opponents, all of whom are bound for D1 scholarships.
Desrosiers has zoomed up the charts, not only in my eyes, not only on a statewide level, but on a national recruiting level, where 18 D1s including BC, Syracuse, Arizona State and Stanford have offered already.
Carson’s emergence led me to formulating an All-Area, All-Time team as I made the two-hour ride home from Springfield.
Yes, he’s only a junior but he belongs on this team. Wondering where? Read the Sunday Eagle-Tribune.
I apologize to the guys pre-1970s. I just don’t know enough about you guys to know.
My recollections of Valley hoop begin right around the time North Andover, under the legend Bob Licare, won a pair of state titles.
So, if I was formulating an Eagle-Tribune area Alltime team, here are my starting five and my five super subs off the bench:
Point guard … Gary McClain, Methuen: Not only did he have the fieldhouse rocking back in the early 80s, he went on to win an NCAA title in what many consider the greatest upset in tourney history with Villanova over Georgetown. How he fought off those Hoya guards for 40 minutes and refused to turn it over, I’ll never understand.
Shooting guard … Scott Hazelton, Central: McDonald’s all-American, state champ, one of the greatest athletes in area history. UConn, URI, pro ball in Europe. Little more needs to be said.
Small forward … Ted kelley, Andover: Rained jumpers all over the region, and the net still hasn’t moved. Captain at Boston College, scary good when it counted. As a Central guy back in high school, I feared him like I feared nobody else.
Power forward … Leo Parent, Central: You folks will call me a homer. I’ll say Leo Parent squeezed more out of his genetic makeup than any player i’ve ever seen. Grabbed every big rebound. Rookie of the year in the D1 MAAC with Manhattan College. Strapped UMass Lowell on his wide shoulders and carried them to the promised land of a national title. The ultimate competitor.
Center … Carson Desrosiers, Central: Yes, he’s just a junior. Yes, he’s not even done. But I agree with Haverhill coach Mike Trovato, who said, “he’ll be a pro,” either here or in some premier European league (I added that part). He’s already done his part for a state title. Central doesn’t win it, without his game at Tsongas Arena, capped by the last-minute block on Matt Welch. Desrosiers could end with 1000 points and 500 blocks. That would be flat-out amazing.
Off the bench:
Point guard … Chris Vetrano, Andover: All my subs fill a role. Chris can run the show and score. A D1 recruit at UNH who got caught up in a coaching mess. Like Leo, he wanted to win, just a little more than the next guy.
Shooting guard … Barry Spears, Central: My Vinnie johnson off the bench, instant offense from anywhere. Played at Virginia Union with Ben Wallace. Loved his game.
Small forward … Paul Neal, Greater Lawrence Tech: Covered him two seasons at Merrimack. Missed exactly one shot driving to his right in that span. One. Uno. 1. Paul was lightning on the baseline and exploded to the hoop like thunder. Just a monster.
Power forward … Rigo Nunez, Lawrence: The kid walked on and factored in the greatest era ever of UMass hoop. To this day, I’m sure Coach Cal would laud Rigo for his contributions there. A rim rocker, maybe the best dunker this area has seen. Nasty defender. Loved his game. Once shot with him at about 1 a.m. on a Saturday night at Sullivan Park and he must have hit 20 3s in a row. This from a guy who couldn’t shoot.
Center … Jonathan Cruz, Central: D1 talent, who had his own era at Central. Not impressive in anyway athletically, but he grabbed every big rebound and made so many clutch shots. Had the best high school dunk I’ve seen on Hampshire Street as a frosh to spark a Raider comeback for the ages against Peabody, which led to a run to the Garden. Cruz was smooth, so smooth. You had to love him.
Note: I had a night’s sleep to mull over my team, and I’ve come up with two additions. We’ll make it a 12-man roster. Here they are and why we need to have them:
First, it’s Timmy Perry of Andover. Why didn’t I have him in the original 10? Tim played at AHS in my one down time when it comes to the region’s sports. I have to apologize. i was off creating story lines for “Saved by the Bell: The College Years,” and didn’t follow it as closely as I should have. The Mrs., an Andover frosh at the time, reassures me that TP was indeed the truth. QB at Harvard, now a bigtime hotshot lawyer, perhaps I was dealing with some inner jealousy (I’m joking here, I consider Tim a friend). Tim Perry was a stud and makes my alltime team easily.
Second, it’s Bobby Licare of Central. Here, I can only say that Bobby was scarred in my original analysis by our friendship, dating back to high school. I didn’t want to have people think that I was affected by that. I figured maybe my thinking was a little clouded. Then, I thought about it. I thought about all the big shots he hit. I thought about the way he controlled the floor like no other point guard we’ve seen since Gary McClain. i think about the fact that there was no three-point line in his day. And finally, there was the D2 All-American body of work at UMass Lowell and the national title. Bobby Licare has to be on the alltime team. Against pressure, he’s my first guard off the bench. He was a surgeon. I can’t let the fact that I’ve always liked the guy get in the way.
So there it is, one man’s opinion.
Opinions, comments, critiques, criticisms, you’re welcome to get after it.
God, I’m on a hoop high. Hope the snow holds off, so I can go to Brockton at andover. Remember, varsity tip, weather permitting, is slated for 3 p.m.
